


The Bitter, Not the Sweet

by AnotherGallavichLove



Series: Prompts [104]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: AU, Kids, Kissing, M/M, stable relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-08-17 10:39:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8140933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnotherGallavichLove/pseuds/AnotherGallavichLove
Summary: Based on this prompt: Hi I am super excited for prompts! You are a great writer BTW! OK, so Mickey and Ian get together, Mickey has Yev and Ian has a little girl from a previous partnership (his bio child tho). When Ian and Mickey get together, Ian's ex does not like Mickey being around his daughter so he starts feeding her lies and petitioning for full custody, as they have shared. Alas, Ian and Mickey are too strong to pull apart, but it may cause tension because Ian's daughter is daddy's little girl. Can't wait!





	

**Author's Note:**

> Can we appreciate the fact that in this prompt, it says 'I am super excited for prompts'. I remember getting this way back when I started accepting them again (no, I'm not currently accepting them, I get that question all the time.) which was back in like January, and maybe earlier. I'm so sorry. I'm trash. I suck for making all of you literally wait over six months, fuck. I'm doing my best, okay?!

Ian’s large hand was curled into a somewhat loose fist as he lifted it up, letting his knuckles hit the wooden surface of the door a few more times than he normally would. A few strands of his hair had completely given up, falling down into his face and sticking to his forehead. The rain wasn’t all that bad yet; in fact, it had barely started, but it was enough that he would like to get out of it and into his boyfriend’s apartment as soon as he possibly could. The couple of pizza boxes that were resting in his hand were beginning to become a darker shade of brown than they should be, and Ian would also very much appreciate if they could be having pizza tonight that didn’t end up being soggy and soaked in rain water.

 

It was quite late now; almost eleven pm, in fact. But Ian had had some work to finish at home, and they had decided not to see each other today. But once Ian had wrapped everything up, he realized that he really fucking missed him, and Mickey wasn’t really a person who liked to head to bed at an early hour; when he had called, begging to come over, he had almost been able to hear the pleased tone in Mickey’s voice.

 

It was quite crazy in a way - how Ian could have feelings this strong for a person he hadn’t known for very long. Well - they had been together for a little bit over six months now, so it wasn’t a terribly short amount of time, but considering the fact that Ian had been with his ex husband for close to a decade - it kind of was. That whole thing had been a mess, but the divorce had gone down over two years ago, and at this point, Ian had to say he was extremely happy with the way that his life looked.

 

The house that Mickey lived in was made out of stone and cement mostly; the railing on the side of the few steps that lead up to the front door was metal, bent into some kind of decorative shapes; it was quite a small house, and even more so since it was split into two apartments - on one side was Mickey’s place, and the other one was occupied by Mickey’s ex wife, whom Ian had only met a handful of times.

 

She seemed alright, though, despite how she seemingly didn't like Ian all that much. Mickey wasn’t bisexual, and he still hadn’t told Ian any of the details of how any of that had gone down. Though, since he always just kind of waved it off on the rare occasions that Ian asked, Ian had stopped asking at this point, figuring that maybe he would end up finding out whenever his boyfriend was ready. Six months wasn’t a whole lot of time, after all, despite the fact that it felt like it sometimes.

 

Ian sighed when the door hadn’t opened even a full minute later, and he knocked again, starting to feel the rain speed up a little bit; though the small bit of roof that stretched out over the stone stairs helped protect him the slightest bit. His knuckles hit the wooden door three more times, and finally he heard the annoyed voice coming from inside.

 

“I’m fucking coming, shut the fuck up” Ian’s teeth nipped at the inside of his bottom lip while he struggled to keep his smile under control; they were still kind of in that honeymoon stage in their relationship - where they hadn’t faced many obstacles as a couple, and they still couldn’t quite keep their hands off of each other. Honestly, if they could stay like this forever, Ian would really fucking like that.

 

By the time Mickey opened the door, his dark eyebrows were knitted together, frown lines appearing in between them, his lips parted. The lamps inside of the apartment were on, so he obviously hadn’t decided to go to bed or anything, but Ian could tell that he had been asleep; probably conked out on the couch for a half an hour or so. If the tired, sleepy look on his face wouldn’t be enough proof of that, then the terribly messy dark brown hair on top of his head surely was.

 

“Sorry I’m late, the pizza place was crowded, friday night craze. Did you fall asleep?” Ian asked, as Mickey backed up inside of the apartment again, letting Ian walk inside, leaving the rain outside in the cold. When Ian heard the door click behind them, he immediately felt so much warmer and happier; just being in the same room as Mickey did that to him. Not to mention how much more inviting the dimly lit apartment was than the dark rain and thunder.

 

“Just for a second, man. Had Yev all day today, kid fucking kicks my ass” Mickey sighed as Ian toed his wet shoes, walking across the livingroom to put the pizza boxes onto the kitchen island, his boyfriend following suit. “Don’t fucking laugh” He said then as he heard Ian snort at his statement. “You got a daughter who barely talks, you don’t know the other side of shit” Ian grinned down at the pizzas as Mickey spoke - though he had to admit that he did indeed have a point; he had spent quite a bit of time with Mickey’s son in the past, and he was a handful - the complete opposite of Chase.

 

When Ian had opened the boxes, he turned to Mickey, the side of his body leaning against the kitchen island while he reached out, cupping his left hand around the shorter man’s hip and urging him to move closer; his lips still stuck in a smile - in fact, it was rare for either of the two of them not to smile when they were in each other’s presence.

 

“I missed you” Ian hummed; it had only been close to two days since they had seen each other, but he couldn’t help it. Any day when he went without seeing those eyes just kind of sucked.

 

Mickey raised his eyebrows, his teeth soon being exposed as his mouth formed a happy smile; he took a step forwards, closer to Ian. So close, in fact that he was even forced to tilt his head up a little bit to look at him; Ian wasn’t a horrifyingly amount taller than himself at all, but he did have quite a few inches more to his height - something they both seemed to like.

 

Mickey placed his hands onto Ian’s chest, pleased at the fact that he had only bothered to put on a thin hoodie on his upper body and nothing more; the dark green color looked good against the pale skin, and a part of Mickey wondered if he was chosen it simply because he knew Mickey felt that way.

 

“Missed you too, man” Mickey said then, wrapping his hands around the long hoodie strings, tugging teasingly as their smiles stayed on their faces for another second before he placed his lips onto Ian’s, wiping them away, their lips having better things to do.

 

Ian hummed, eyes immediately closing as he melted into it, pulling his boyfriend even a little bit closer to him, their chests leaning against each other; honestly, even though they were both quite a few years into their thirties at this point, when they were together, they just kind of forgot about that. It felt like they were eighteen or nineteen, just falling in love for a first time. Granted, a lot of that was probably because it was all still very new, but the way Ian saw it, there was nothing wrong with savoring that stage in a relationship.

 

  
***

 

  
Later that night - towards one and two am - the two pizza boxes were laid out over the coffee table in Mickey's livingroom, only two or three surviving pieces in between them both. They had turned a couple of lamps off, starting to become too tired, not wanting the light source anymore. The only reason for the apartment not being completely jet black was the soft flickering light of the television as they laid on the couch, stomachs full of food, eyelids starting to become a little bit too heavy.

 

Mickey was just barely laying down, somehow both sitting at the same time, his back leaning against the armrest of the old couch. Ian had taken his place on top of him, back to his chest, the red hair tickling his neck every once in a while as he moved a little bit. Mickey’s arm was draped over his left shoulder, towards the back of the couch, and Ian had his fingers slipped in between his, holding his hand loosely while they paid some kind of attention to the episode of Sex and the City that was on. Neither of them cared much about the storyline, but the remote was all the way across the coffee table, and they were almost too tired to listen to the words anyway, dozing off every couple of minutes, Mickey continually dropping his head and panicking for a split second before doing it all over again. He could feel Ian twitch against his body, letting him know that he was doing the exact same thing.

 

Mickey’s fingers rested in the red hair, and he looked down, moving them slightly through the strands, seeing if he would get any kind of reaction; Ian loved it when he played with his hair, though, so if he was trying to keep him awake then that had been the wrong thing to do.

 

“You wanna head to bed?” Mickey murmured quietly through the dark livingroom. “My legs are fucking killing me, man” Ian weighed at least the same amount as Mickey, if not even a little bit more being that he was taller and had quite a bit of muscle on him, so having his body on top of his own for an hour straight, not moving had of course caused the feeling to disappear in his legs.

 

A low groan escaped Ian’s nose at the question, making it quite obvious that he didn’t want to move at all; he tightened his hand around Mickey’s a little bit, shaking his head.

 

“Shut up, I’m too tired. Just hold me” Mickey snorted gently at the drawn together words, though he wasn’t agreeing.

 

“Come on, man.” He spoke, a little bit louder as he started moving his body, pushing at Ian’s back to get him to somehow obey him and get off. It only took a few seconds before Ian seemed to realize that he didn’t have much of a choice, so he sighed deeply, placing his hand on the back of the couch, pushing himself up to stand next to it, stumbling for a short second before regaining his balance.

 

Mickey pushed himself up as well, reaching for the remote to turn the television off before following Ian into the bedroom. Honestly, when Ian had first called and asked to come over earlier - as much as he was legitimately falling in love with Ian in all sorts of innocent ways as well - his first thought had been that he would finally get fucked - two days was a long time when he was used to getting Ian almost every single day. Sometimes twice, if they could find the time in between kids and jobs. But there was no fucking way now, they were both stumbling too much, way too exhausted; it was way too late. Fuck, the night would be grey in an hour or two.

 

Once Mickey walked into his bedroom, Ian was standing on the side of the bed - the right side, because at this point that was the side that was his - and he was unzipping his hoodie, throwing it to the floor along with his jeans. When he was left in his boxers, he tiredly pulled the covers back, climbing into bed, laying out flat on his back. For a short moment, his eyes were closed, a pleased sigh escaping his lips. But then he opened them again, looking at Mickey.

 

Mickey was still standing in the doorway; he hadn't meant to stop, he had just been sort of mesmerized by his boyfriend’s undressing for a short moment. But that wasn’t the only thing that had caught his attention. It was also how easily he had just done it - undressed and climbed into bed as if it was his own. Like this apartment was his own - and it honestly kind of might as well could have been. With how many nights he spent here.

 

“What?” Ian asked as he saw the thoughtful expression on Mickey’s face; it also crossed Mickey’s mind to wait, to talk about this tomorrow or the day after. But he could see that Ian had somewhat more energy now, from having to move and walk into the bedroom, so Mickey shrugged. Then he reached behind his back, tugging his own shirt off, along with his sweatpants before he climbed into bed as well, Ian tilting his head in confusion since there was obviously something on his mind. “Mick?”

 

“Man, you want to move in?” It was clumsy, and out of nowhere, but it wasn’t as if Mickey was proposing or anything - how special could he actually make it? They had been together for quite a few months, they had said their I Love You’s, and… this just felt like a good next step. It would feel really good - to know that this was Ian’s home, to know that it was their home. Together. Mickey hadn’t thought about it a whole lot until just now, but it had crossed his mind once or twice.

 

For a split second, he was worried Ian would shake his head. He didn’t, though - of course he didn’t - his face just completely lit up, mouth stretching into a large grin. His face moved up and down a few times into a nod, and Mickey couldn’t help but get influenced by the sudden rush of happiness that seemed to have passed through his boyfriend.

 

“Yeah?” Mickey asked when he still hadn’t gotten a verbal answer.

 

“Fuck yes, Mick. Of course” Ian laughed, wrapping his arms around his body and pulling him to him, burying his face in his neck, ticking his skin as he breathed him in. “I love you so much”

 

Mickey grinned at the words; it was still kind of new. They had only said it about a month ago for the first time, but it would never cease to make him feel like a fucking teenager.

 

“I love you” Mickey promised back.

 

They spent that night spooning in Mickey’s bed; Ian’s arms tightly wrapped around his body, nose buried in his neck as they felt closer than ever before; happier. Amazed that for the first time in their lives, a relationship was just great. And not just their relationship, but their lives outside of it, it was just running smoothly, very few hiccups. Of course - all things go somewhat bitter eventually.

 

  
***

 

  
About three weeks after that night, came the day when Ian was supposed to be moving in. It had taken a little while, since Ian had needed to get rid of his own apartment, and they had also painted Mickey’s last remaining guest room to make it into Chase’s room instead. Ian had to admit that it felt incredibly good - for his daughter to have a room here, to know that this was his and Mickey’s apartment rather than just Mickey’s. It felt as if they were a family; like they would be for a long time. In fact, it was difficult for him not to grin whenever he thought about how content he was with his life at the moment.

 

Ian actually didn’t own a ton of things - back when he and Jason had filed for divorce and sold the house that they used to share together, he had also seen that move as a way to get rid of all of the things that he didn’t need to have anymore. This was the reason why it didn’t take a long time to move him into Mickey’s place - only a few hours, in fact. About five or six boxes of things - and three of Chase’s - and that was it. Ian was extremely grateful to himself for throwing so much shit out back then, because otherwise this whole thing could have easily turned into a two day move, instead it was only a few hours.

 

Bringing the things over - that was - he figured he would unpack another day, since they had gotten somewhat of a late start this morning, and dinner time was starting to roll around at this point.

 

Ian and Mickey were both in the kitchen, the darkness starting to fall outside of the large windows; the lamps were on, though, admitting that somewhat soft yellow light all over the open livingroom and the kitchen, making Ian feel more at home than he ever really would have thought possible, actually.

 

Svetlana was cooking - mostly because she didn’t trust Ian nor Mickey with the stove for shit - and the two of them were sitting by the kitchen island together with Yevgeny, though the young teenager had his focus completely on the screen of his computer, typing away on something that Mickey had no idea what it was. It all felt very peaceful; the air felt normal, it felt like home.

 

Ian had to admit that Svetlana also seemed quite cheery about this whole thing today - happy that Mickey had fund someone - which kind of surprised him, because he had never gotten the impression that she liked him very much. Which was sad, because while Svetlana was Mickey’s ex wife, Ian also knew that they loved each other. Maybe they wouldn't admit it, and it would obviously never be a romantic kind of love, but it was true, he had seen it. They did. The few and only times that Ian had ever asked Mickey about Svetlana’s seeming distance to himself, his boyfriend had just smiled, shaking his head. He had answered that she was just like that because she was protective of him.

  
Something that Ian had at this point accepted as a fact.

 

Tonight, though, she seemed to have eased up a little bit; she wasn't dancing around the kitchen or anything - it was Svetlana after all - but she didn’t sneer at Ian either. Baby steps.

 

The comfortable silence in the kitchen was disturbed by the sound of the doorbell buzzing; everybody turning their heads towards the front door, Ian soon getting up and walking out of the kitchen to reach it, opening it.

 

“Hey, monkey!” Ian’s face immediately lit up when he looked down, seeing the tiny, eleven year old girl, the red hair pouring down her shoulders. He opened his arms up, and she laughed, walking into her father, wrapper her arms around his hips, her cheek pressing against his stomach. They hadn’t seen each other in an entire week - usually they would talk on skype once in a while when she was with Jason, but Ian had had so much to do with the move and everything. Of course he felt bad, but now she was here for the next week, so he would have the opportunity to make it up to her. “Chase, I got your room ready, you want to see it after dinner?” Ian asked, and she nodded, letting go of him and tilting her head far back so that she could look at his face despite their huge height difference.

 

“Is Mickey inside?” She asked then, and Ian nodded.

 

“Yeah, go” He laughed, and she ran past him towards the kitchen; Ian and Mickey may not have been together for more than around seven months, but they were truly a family - not just the two of them, but their kids as well. Chase and Yevgeny got along great, and Ian and Mickey got along with each other’s kids - it was honestly kind of amazing. Ian wasn’t sure how he would have dealt with it if Chase had ended up hating Mickey, or resenting him, but she was a smart girl. She may have wanted her fathers to stay together, but she had quite soon realized that that couldn’t happen.

 

“So you’re really moving in with him?” Ian crossed his arms, looking at Jason while he nodded, appearing just as confident as he was. In a way, Ian supposed there would always be a tiny part of him that would care for Jason - they had been married for fucks sakes, they had raised a child together for many years. But in the end, there was a reason why they had split up - they just hadn’t gotten along anymore. Chase had witnessed way too much screaming, and they had just changed too much, developed into different people. And just because they got a divorce, that didn’t mean they automatically got along, either. They rarely fought anymore - but it was never perfectly smooth, of course.

 

“Yeah” Ian said. “I am” The words were plain and easy - like he felt about the decision. He was just in love with Mickey, like hell he was excusing or explaining it to Jason. It wasn’t any of his business. Besides - Jason had never liked Mickey at all, so it was best to avoid any kind of drama whatsoever, especially with a little girl in the picture who loved them all. Ian didn’t know if Jason didn’t like Mickey because he was Mickey, or because he was Ian’s new partner - he supposed it was both, because although Ian’s boyfriend had never spent much time with his ex husband, Mickey did have a very clear distance to people. He was always either really quiet or really angry - to people he didn’t know, that was.

 

“That’s good for you, Ian. I’m happy you found someone” Ian frowned; usually Jason would just drop Chase off, and they would say ‘Hi’ and ‘Bye’. Decide when she would go back, but this time for some reason, he seemed to be lingering in the doorway. “I’m happy for you” Jason said then. “But you know I never liked that guy”

 

Ian just snorted, “Yeah, you don’t know him.” He did his best not to grind his teeth together; he just wanted to slam the door in his ex husband’s face and go back into the apartment and spend the night with his family. The last thing he needed were assault charges against him; it was one thing for Jason to quietly despise Mickey, Ian couldn’t do much about that. But flat out stating it, that was just kind of an ugly thing to do. Especially since Mickey had never done shit to Jason.

 

Jason sighed, bringing a hand up to the grey tinted curls on top of his head, running his fingers through the hair a little bit, and then down his face over the scruff, seeming as if he was forcing himself to stay calm in the same manner as Ian was.

 

“Well, I just figured that I would let you know - now is as good of a time as any - that I’m not comfortable with Chase being around him so much” Ian furrowed his eyebrows even more, curses bubbling up in his throat that he just barely managed to swallow down.

 

“She’s been around him for months” Ian pointed out.

 

“Yes, but now she will be living here permanently - unless she’s with me - and it makes me uncomfortable. I don’t trust him. He curses, he drinks, he smokes, that is not the environment that I want her in” Ian noticed that Jason was beginning to become just as worked up as he was himself; they both had their arms crossed over their chests, like ticking time bombs, trying to keep their voices down until they wouldn’t be able to anymore.

 

“What the fuck are you saying?” Ian asked. “And why didn’t you say it before I actually moved?” Not that he ever would have let his ex husband’s opinion of Mickey rule his life, or keep him from moving in with him, when that was what they both wanted - but he had to admit, doing this on the very first night when Ian had finally officially moved in was just incredibly dirty.

 

“I didn’t think you would go through with it. But then again, I didn’t think you would stay with that guy for as long as you have either, so I guess your standards have lowered more than I assumed.”

 

“Excuse the fuck outta me?” Ian closed his eyes at Mickey’s voice coming from behind him; clearly he had been listening in for at least a little while. He loved his partner more than life itself, but he knew that this would go smoother if he didn’t get involved. Fuck. “Why don’t you say that shit to my face, man?” Mickey asked, and Ian changed his mind. He would always be up for his boyfriend kicking some ass.

 

“Babe” Ian said, putting an arm around his waist; maybe to get him to calm down a little bit, or maybe because it was fun to upset Jason even more - maybe both. “Calm down” Then he looked to his ex husband again, who seemed to be practically fuming. “What are you saying?”

 

Jason had uncrossed his arms as some point, but now he crossed them once again; he wasn’t smirking, but for some reason, Ian got that kind of cocky vibe off of him anyway, despite the serious look on his face. He was silent for a beat, and then he answered the question;

 

“I’m suing for full custody”

 

  
***

 

  
As the clock ticked closer and closer to midnight that night, Ian was dressed in only a pair of boxers, laid out flat over their double bed, staring up into the ceiling. Mickey was walking around the room, the floorboards creaking just every once in a while in certain areas while he paced and paced, tugging at the roots of his hair every once in a while.

 

Who the fuck did Ian’s ex husband think that he was anyway? This guy didn’t know Mickey beyond his name for shit, they had never talked, never really spent any time in the same room, even - maybe five minutes when Chase was being dropped off and picked up, but he was only going off of a few minutes of interaction, and now, what? He was just going to tug Ian’s daughter away from him? From them? Like fucking hell he was.

 

Not the kids nor Svetlana knew about this yet, of course. Seeing as Ian and Mickey had kept themselves from screaming, having known that it wouldn’t help the situation. They had pushed it out of their minds over dinner, but now, when they were alone, in their room, they were actually starting to turn this over in their heads - what if he would end up winning?

 

“Why aren’t you fucking fuming right now?” Ian heard Mickey’s words from across the bedroom, and he just seemed to kind of sigh. He was - he just had a different method of dealing with it than his partner did. “What if he fucking calls a lawyer and gets Chase forever, Ian?!”

 

Ian sighed again, his eyes clenching closed at the thought of the nightmare; of not seeing his daughter every other week anymore. Then he opened his eyes again, pushing himself off of the bed, walking through the dimly lit room to get to Mickey, placing his arms around his waist to keep him from pacing.

 

“That’s not gonna happen” Ian said, looking into those blue eyes; he had to admit that despite the awful situation - though he honestly doubted anything terrible would happen seeing as Jason was single, Chase was Ian’s biological child, and Ian had a partner; the odds were kind of pointed in his own favor - anyway, he kind of liked how worked up Mickey was getting. It proved to him once again that he really cared, not just about Ian, but about Ian’s life, about his daughter and his family. It was quite comforting.

 

“The fuck do you know? It could” Mickey pointed out, raising his eyebrows. Ian tilted his head to the side, pulling him even closer, his own bare chest resting against the thin cotton material of Mickey’s shirt.

 

“It’s not gonna happen, because we’re not gonna let it” Ian swallowed after he spoke, not sure exactly who he was trying to convince. “We got this alright? We’re gonna fight - stick together, right?” Mickey nodded immediately, wrapping his arms around his body as well, pulling himself even closer, cheek against his collarbone.

 

“Fucking course we stick together”

 

  
***

 

  
It was all of two weeks after that horrific night that Ian and Mickey - along with Chase, because it was their turn to have her with the once again - walked into the small room to meet with Jason and his lawyer. Of course they had their own lawyer as well.

 

“Why is he here? He doesn’t have any business here?” Jason immediately questioned as he laid eyes on Mickey, making the brunet roll his eyes.

 

“Mr. Milkovich is my client’s partner. They live together, therefor, he has a right to be here” Mandy stated easily, and Ian bit the inside of his bottom lip to keep from laughing - she made a damn good lawyer, kicked ass in fact. Jason nor his lawyer had any idea that despite being a well educated lawyer, she was also Mickey’s sister, which kind of made it all even funnier. “Should we begin?” She asked then, and a few answers rang through out the small room, everybody sitting down around the dark table.

 

Chase was just kind of sitting next to Ian, hiding somewhat; she understood what was going on, of course. She wasn’t five, though she couldn’t quite piece together why. Why now, why did her dad want to take her away from her daddy now? Everything had been alright for quite a few years from what she could remember; and being a child of divorce wasn’t all bad. She had gotten a lot of presents.

  
Nor could she figure out who’s side she should be on. When there had been fighting, and divorce papers, and suddenly two apartments instead of one house - all she had ever heard was; ‘This is not your fault, do you understand? daddy and I just don’t get along very well anymore. We still love you very, very much.’

 

So she had never needed to take sides, because they had made an effort to feel as if she didn’t have to. But this - was, in fact - about her. They were fighting because of her now, fighting to see who would get her, who she would have to live with, she she couldn’t understand why. Why couldn’t things go on the way that they had? Why couldn’t she just keep staying with them both every other week? She loved them both, they were both good dads, and they loved her very much, so what was the problem?

 

Maybe the little girl had zoned out for a minute, staring at the edge of the wooden table as the adults around her were talking; but then someone that she didn’t recognize - one of the ladies in the suits - were turning to her, lowering her face a little bit to speak to her.

 

“Chase” Chase didn’t recognize her, but she looked kind. Some of the people in the room just looked angry. “Have you ever felt… uncomfortable with Mickey?”

 

“No! I love Mickey, he’s great. Sometimes we get pizza, and on saturday mornings, we always watch the ninja turtles together with his son” Mickey smiled at the words, happy with the reaction. He had to admit, the very first time that Ian had introduced him to Chase, he had been worried. He didn’t know anything about little girls, but she had proven to not be so different from Yevgeny after all. He loved her just as much as he loved him at this point.

 

“That sounds nice” The woman smiled at Chase, and Jason stayed sitting at the corner of the table with his arms crossed as she moved her attention to Mickey. “Does Mr. Scott - in your opinion - have a reason to worry about his daughter? Would you ever hurt her?”

 

“Of course fucking not!” It wasn’t the most professional response, but Mickey couldn’t help it. The thought of someone harming either of the kids in his life - whether it be his own or Ian’s - made him furious, even if it was her job, someone suggesting that he would be the one to do it was fucking insane. Ian’s hand softly curled around his forehead, though, calming him down quite quickly. “Mr. Scott - you mentioned that there was cursing in the house, and drinking and you weren’t comfortable with?”

 

“Yes. And smoking” Jason nodded, Mickey having to force himself to not roll his eyes. The woman turned to Ian and Mickey again, both lawyers continuing to stay quiet as she tried to figure out exactly what was going on.

 

“What do you have to say about that?” Ian swallowed, hoping that he would be able to handle this well enough.

 

“Cursing kind of comes naturally to Mickey, I do it too, I guess we could try to stop. The drinking isn’t a lot, maybe a few beers on a friday night, a few cigarettes a day” He said. “Outside” He felt the need to add - honestly, nothing of that wasn’t exactly good, but it wasn’t nearly as huge of a problem as Jason was making it out to be. Quite honestly, as Ian looked at him from across the table, he got the feeling that maybe he wasn’t so uncomfortable with Mickey being around Chase, but more so the fact that Ian was so in love with Mickey, that he was happy without Jason. And if that was the reason he was putting them all through this, like hell Ian would allow him to go home with full custody.

 

“Well” She gathered up a few papers. “I don’t see any large reasons why I should grant either of you full custody - shared seems to have been going quite well up until recently, hasn’t it? You both seem like loving fathers, there’s no reason to uproot a little girl’s life”

 

Ian’s fingers dig into Mickey’s arm in relief, and he could feel his partner’s body just relaxing at the words - in a way, it would have been comforting to have full custody, but that was a battle for another day if they would ever feel like it. Asshole aside, when it came to Chase, Jason was a good father. For now, Ian was just incredibly happy he wouldn’t have to have his daughter torn away from him.

 

  
***

 

  
Ian wrapped his arms around his daughter outside on the parking lot, hugging her goodbye as it was time for her to go to Jason’s once again. The small bag of her things that she needed to have for school were packed into her bookbag that she hung over her shoulder.

 

“I’ll see you in a week, monkey. I love you so, so much” Ian spoke into the long, red hair; maybe he was hugging her a little bit tighter than normally, but it was only because he was so fucking relived. The past couple of weeks had been hell on earth, going back and forth between being angry and saying ‘Oh, but what if they grant him full custody?’ Now it was over - thank fuck.

 

“Daddy, you’re choking me” Chase laughed into his stomach, and he finally let her go.

 

“I’m sorry” Ian laughed back, and she grinned, walking over to Mickey to give him a hug as well. He immediately wrapped his arms around her.

 

“We’ll see you in a few days, buddy. Kick some ass at school this week, alright?” Mickey frowned, lifting his head to look at his partner when he heard him clearing his throat, the red tinted eyebrows raising in question. “Fuck - sorry. Gonna be a while before I can stop that shit, alright? Fuck” He shook his head, sighing at himself as he let the giggling little girl go.

 

“Bye, daddy” Chase said again, and then she walked over to Jason’s car, getting into the passenger seat as he was holding it open for him. Ian’s eyes connected with his ex husband’s for a short second, across the parking lot. There was something in them, distaste, or anger, Ian couldn’t tell. Nor did he care; Jason was obviously displeased with the outcome of it all, but Ian was nothing short of happy. It all worked out fine, thank fuck.

 

Almost as if Mickey had been able to read Ian’s thoughts, he wrapped his arms around his waist from the side, holding him close as they stood still on the parking lot for another beat, watching the car drive off into the distance. Ian wrapped an arm around his neck and waist as well, feeling as if he needed him next to him now more than ever; he dropped a kiss to the brown hair, sighing.

 

“Thank fuck for Mandy” Mickey said suddenly, and Ian hummed. If it wasn’t for all of the work she had put into the files, proving that Ian and Mickey were good people, maybe Jason would have had a better chase of winning this whole thing.

 

“Yeah” Their arms were still laced around each other as Mickey lifted his head off of Ian’s shoulder, looking into his eyes instead. “Thanks for sticking through all of this” Ian said then; it hadn’t been a long journey or anything, of course - only two weeks - though it had been a hell of a ride. Of worry and frustration, and anger.

 

“‘Course” Mickey shrugged. “We’re a family, man”

**Author's Note:**

> This is the longest story I've posted in quite a while, damn. I meant for it to be like 3k or something, but it turned into this. Oh well. 
> 
> Hope you guys liked it! <3


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